Angel Love Love
by SleeplessBlackRose
Summary: It's possible for an Angel to fall in love with a human possessed by a Devil... but there are harsh consequences. If only Sakura was brave enough to face them. sasusaku, nejisaku. Okay, it sucks in the beginning, but it gets better, i PROMISE, PLEASE read
1. Prologue

Prologue

Sakura fluttered her white wings faster. _Come on! You can do it! Faster!_ She thought frantically.

They were gaining on her.

Sakura went through a cloud to stall for time. It wasn't a nice feeling exactly; cold, wet, and it made her feathers stick together. But at least it concealed her momentarily.

Sakura shuddered, not from cold, but from fear. The Devils were after her. Literally.

Sakura was made an angel six years ago. She was a human before, but she had died in an accident. When she arrived to the land of Dead, she was sent to Heaven and made an Angel.

And she loved it.

She didn't remember her life as a human down on Earth, but it didn't matter. She didn't want to know. All she knew was that now, she was on the most perfect place in the world, and she was happy.

She had looked down into the world once in a while and saw only war, terror, and temptations.

Sakura glanced momentarily with haughtiness at the land below her. It was pitch black, but she could see little dotted lights. Just like stars up here, only less beautiful.

Bam!

Sakura cursed herself for letting her guard down. She flew from her hiding space, her pink hair flying wildly around her. _I really must braid my hair more tightly next time… If there is a next time._

Sakura felt a tear slip away from her eyes, but immediately brushed it away. _I'm not alone. God is always with me. _She thought fiercely, and with all her might, she gave another push with her wings.

Sakura looked over her shoulder and saw four Devils. They looked exactly like Angels; beautiful, flawless, and powerful. But their eyes had menace in them, hatred, and feelings that Sakura was frightened to know about. Their wings were black, black as night, unlike the Angels who had pure white just like the sun.

"Get her." A Devil commanded, and immediately one of the swooped down and swiped in an attempt to get her, but Sakura was too quick and nimble.

Sakura was an experienced Angel. She had faced many dangers in her life carrying out missions. But she had never faced them alone.

That's when it struck her.

She was alone. She could _die_ here. Well, not die, exactly, that's what humans did. She could disappear from this world.

_God, please help me._ Sakura prayed silently, and she dipped down to try to distract her pursuers.

But they already saw through her move and were in front of her. One of them managed to cut her left wing, making it bleed. Sakura cried out in pain.

_I'm… losing altitude. _Sakura thought frantically and tried to move it. _If this continues, I might fall to the ground!_

Fear took her and she screamed, making the Devils cackle. They enjoyed pursuing Angels, hearing them scream until they made the Angels disappear.

After a few struggles, Sakura gave up entirely. She folded her wings and fell headfirst to the ground.

Some trees had cushioned her fall, but she hurt anyway. She was scratched from head to toe, and she was bleeding. Her white robe was ripped to shreds. Sakura watched the four black dots hover around and then leave. _At least the Devils are gone…_ She thought. Relief filled her and she closed her eyes.

* * *

Neji flew silently. He had heard that Sakura was being pursued by the Devils and was flying there to help her. His heart ached when he thought about the innocent looking pinkette. _Please, please let her be all right._ He thought.

When he reached the location, he found nothing. There were signs of struggle everywhere- the clouds, the smell of blood, the stray feathers…

Neji clenched his fist and his face paled even more in anger. He was going to find her… if she was still alive. Neji's careful eyes scanned the sky and he instantly saw where the Devils went. Biting his lips, he followed them.

Sakura was prepared to disappear. She had disappeared on a mission, and it was a proud way to vanish. Tears streamed from her eyes as she remembered all the Angels she knew.

_Neji…_ His blank face filled her mind and she cried even harder. Sakura had known Neji the moment she became an Angel… he was her first Angel friend.

And, a few months ago, he had proposed to her.

She had, of course, said yes. She loved Neji a lot, so much that it had first scared her.

But now she was going to disappear.

The thought of never seeing Neji again made the streams of tears grow even steadier.

"What the hell…" Sakura heard a soft voice. Sakura stopped crying and moved her head to see who spoke. "Who are you?" A man in his twenties with black hair and black eyes stood a few feet away from her.

"S- S- Sakura…" Sakura stammered. She realized that she had fallen to the ground, which meant that she was in the human world now. And this person… standing in front of her… was human? He had a faintly puzzled look on his face. "Don't come near me!" She screamed. She struggled to get up, tried to move her wings to fly.

The man's eyes widened when he saw the wings. "Are you- are you-" He whispered. "Could it be possible that you are an Angel?" He asked. By now Sakura had managed to lean on a tree and get up. She tried to flutter her wings.

There was a sickening crack, and an unbelievable pain shot through her left wing. Sakura yelled and fell to the ground, unconscious.

**It's a bit short, isn't it? Don't worry, it'll get longer. (I hope, hehe) This is my second fanfiction… my first one wasn't that great, but I came up with a great idea for the second one… so it would be really helpful if you leave me reviews!**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sakura opened her eyes weakly. The sunlight shone in her eyes and made her eyes water. "Unh…" She groaned. She looked around slowly to see where she was. She was under slightly musty sheets, and in a one-room apartment. There were junk everywhere. Sakura wrinkled her nose.

_I have to get out of here._ She thought. She pulled off the covers but then pulled them over her again when she realized she wasn't wearing anything. _Great_. She thought grimly. A door burst opened, and the man she had seen that night came out. He was carrying two bags filled to the top.

"You're awake." The man said quietly. He sat the bags down on the dirty table. Sakura just stared at him. "So… are you really an Angel?" He whispered.

Sakura turned away from him. "Yes." She said. "I am." Something about this man's gaze was making Sakura feel uncomfortable. He was staring at her as if… he knew her? No, it couldn't be. "Could you lend me some clothes? I'm going to get out." The man nodded and picked up something black from a counter, also dirty. Sakura heard something beep as the man jabbed at the black thing, and he put the thing to his ear.

"Hey, Ino. Can you come over with some spare clothes? Yeah, I have this girl at my house… No, not my girlfriend. Just bring some spare clothes." Sakura heard another beep and the man put the black thing down.

"What's that?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"It's a telephone. You don't know what a telephone is?" Sakura felt slightly foolish.

"No." She said, and she pulled the musty covers over her head so that she wouldn't have to talk to the man anymore.

Moments later there was a knock on the door. Sakura peeked from under the covers to see who it was. A tall woman with long blonde hair tied in a high ponytail walked in.

"Sasuke, this may have been the first time you ever called me." She said, smiling a little. "Where's the girl?" She looked around and saw Sakura on the bed. "That's her, right?" The man nodded. Ino walked over to her with graceful steps and laid the clothes on the bed for her. "Here you go, I hope they fit you." She said. Sakura smiled at her, but was surprised when she saw horror in her blue eyes. Sakura folded her wings tighter against her back.

_She didn't see my wings, did she?_ Sakura panicked. There was nothing she could do about the man spotting her wings, but the less people knew that she was an Angel, Sakura had a feeling the better it would be.

Ino whipped her head around and glared at Sasuke.

"Thank you." Sakura whispered. She reached for the clothes and pulled the covers on her again.

"Thanks, Ino. You can leave now." Sasuke said, sighing. Ino turned to Sasuke.

"Talk to me." Ino said, and she grabbed Sasuke's hand. He sighed tiredly but followed her.

Outside, Ino turned to Sasuke.

"What is it, Ino?" Sasuke muttered.

"That girl- that girl-" Ino gestured to the door. "That girl looked a lot like-"

"I know." Sasuke interrupted. "I know she looks a lot like Ayumi." Ino cringed slightly at the name.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry, but I don't think you should bring a girl to your home just because she looks like your dead girlfriend." Ino sighed, and leaned her head on the door. Sasuke looked away.

"Yeah, I know. I'm going to let her go home after she gets dressed." Sasuke muttered.

"Okay." Ino smiled a little and leaned over to give Sasuke a kiss on the cheek. Sasuke accepted it silently. "We love you, Sasuke. Remember your friends are always there for you." Ino clapped in gently on the shoulder and left.

Sasuke watched her go for a while, and went in.

Sakura was all dressed now. The clothes were slightly big for her, but they still fit her. She was holding a pair of scissors. "Excuse me, but could you cut holes on the back of this sweatshirt? For my wings, you know…" She held them out. Sasuke took the scissors and gently cut through the fabric. Then he eased the wounded wings out of the holes. "Thank you." Sakura muttered.

"My name's Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke said suddenly, surprising himself with the sudden introduction.

"Um, my name is Sakura…" Sakura tilted her head slightly to think of a last name quick. "Haruno Sakura." Sakura straightened her wings slowly and folded them again. "If it's okay with you, can I stay here until my wings heal? I promise you I won't be a burden." Sakura asked meekly. Sasuke sighed.

"Yeah, fine." He muttered. He glanced at his watch and grabbed a black jacket. "I have to go to work. You can wander around a bit, but be careful and don't talk to anyone suspicious. And be back at before dark." Sasuke opened the door and left.

Sakura sighed in relief. She stretched her wings out, ignoring the stabbing pain, and checked her arms and legs for cuts. She found that they were all bound with some kind of sticky material that pulled away easily. She quickly stuck it back on.

Next she decided to make herself useful by cleaning some of this mess up. She hadn't really done much cleaning before as an Angel, but she washed the dishes with some yellow squishy thing and green liquid that smelled nice, and swept the floor with some stick like thing with a lot of bristly thing on one end. She didn't know what to do with the clothes, so she just folded them and left them on the bed.

_It's not perfect._ Sakura thought. _But it'll do._ She found a jacket and pulled it on to conceal her wings. It was uncomfortable, pulling her wings so tightly against her back, but to conceal her wings, she had to do it.

The street was, in other words, gloomy. There were people sitting on streets, looking grubby and sick. Sakura stared fixedly at the ground and kept on walking. She looked up at the sky, but it was gray and she couldn't find any signs of white flecks flying by.

_Neji, I'm here… Please come get me._ She thought. Sakura felt tears welling up in her eyes again. _I really have to get out of here. It's horrible here._

* * *

Sasuke sighed and sat down on the chair. A man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes approached him. "Hey, Sasuke. You look tired." He flashed a cheerful grin. 

"Hey, Naruto." Sasuke muttered and rubbed his temples. "It's nothing… I just saw someone."

"Ooh, who?" Naruto's grin widened. "A girl? You haven't had a girlfriend in six years." Sasuke glared at him sideways.

"No, she's not a girl I'm seeing like that. I just found her while I was just taking a walk… she was injured." Naruto's smile faded slightly and was replaced with a worried glance.

"Oh, was she okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, she's fine. Except-" Sasuke stopped himself, but Naruto caught it.

"Yeah? Except what? What?"

"Except… she looks a lot like Ayumi." Sasuke whispered. Naruto's smile went off.

"Oh…" Naruto looked down. "If you're going to go out with the girl… don't do it just because she looks like Ayumi, Sasuke." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Why does everyone keep on saying that to me? First Ino, now you…" Sasuke tilted his back and closed his eyes. "Do I look that shallow to you?" He asked.

Naruto's smile was back. "Well…" He stalled. Sasuke threw a stapler at him and it hit him on the arm. "Owwww!" He squealed and sprinted away laughing. _Idiot._ Sasuke thought, but he smiled.

Sasuke worked for a small shop for photos. His hobby had been taking pictures since he was little, and he enjoyed his job. Plus, all his friends worked there, either as photographers or models or developers.

Sasuke grabbed his black camera and held it gently. The memories when he first held a camera came rushing back to him.

-Flashback-

_Eight-year-old Sasuke clung to his brother's arm tightly. "Onii-san, is mother sick?" He cried. His older brother, Uchiha Itachi didn't say anything, but merely turned pale. "Onii-san, onii-san, answer me!" Sasuke wailed._

"_Sh, little brother, sh… everything is going to all right." Itachi stroked his brother's head gently. _

_A door opened and a doctor came out. He shook his head sadly at Itachi. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I tried." With that, he left._

_Sasuke ran inside the room to the frail of his mother. "Oka-san, Oka-san." He wailed. _

_A thin hand rose with difficulty and stroke Sasuke's cheek. "I'm sorry… Sasuke, I'm so sorry…" His mother spoke in a wispy voice. Sasuke cried even harder. "Sh… Sasuke, stop crying, I'm going to fine." His mother said. Sasuke hiccupped and looked at his mother with puffy eyes. "Take one thousand pictures of what you love the most with my black camera, and I promise you, I'll get better." _

_Sasuke nodded, and ran out the room to fetch the camera. Itachi looked at his mother. "Why did you say that?" He whispered._

"_It would take his mind off things… he loved watching me take pictures…" A tear rolled down his mother's eyes. Itachi reached over and brushed it off._

_Itachi watched with sad eyes as the light faded from the woman's eyes. _

_Sasuke was outside, trying out the camera._

_He had taken three pictures when his mother had died._

**I felt really gloomy when I was writing about how Sasuke's mother died. Itachi acts pretty nicely, don't you think? Maybe I should turn him evil as he grows up…. (Evil laughter)****Reviews please!!!**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sakura was looking out the window when Sasuke arrived. He looked gloomier than before, if that was possible. "Uh, hi." Sakura greeted him nervously.

"Hn," He grunted. "Did you eat?" He asked.

"No." Sasuke sighed. "Did you?" She asked.

"Not yet… my friends are taking me out to dinner now. Come with us." He offered.

"Would I be a burden?" Sakura asked. Sasuke suddenly whipped his head around and stared at her. "I wouldn't want to be a burden if I went along with your friends." _Why is he staring at me like that…_

"No! Just… come." Sasuke opened the door out for her. Sakura hid her wings in the jacket and went outside. _She just said what Ayumi would've said._ Sasuke stared after Sakura. _Who is this girl?_

They walked to the restaurant in silence. "How did you become an Angel?" Sasuke asked suddenly. "Sorry," He added when Sakura looked at him. "I'm just curious."

"Um, I don't really remember, but…" Sakura looked at the sky as if thinking hard. "I was human once, you know." Sakura said. "But I died, but… apparently God was watching me the whole time, saw how well I tried to live my life, and gave me a privilege to become an Angel." Sakura rubbed her hands in the cold. "And then I met other Angels, and made friends with them. I was… engaged to marry an Angel, too." Sakura blushed slightly.

"So all Angels become like that? Humans die and God pick them out?" Sasuke asked. Sakura turned her green eyes to his black ones.

"You make it sound like as if that's a bad thing." Sakura said, "And no, Angels don't always become like that. Angels can get married, and have babies… and the babies become automatic Angels." Sakura closed her eyes as a breeze swept over her. "Those kinds of Angels are called Full-Angels. My fiancé is a Full-Angel." Sakura said and smiled a little sadly. "My kind of Angels are called Half-Angels. It doesn't really matter though. There's not much difference between the two kinds anyway. But-" Sakura stopped walking and looked at Sasuke. "It makes it seem like as if Half-Angels are less than Full-Angels, doesn't it?" Sasuke shrugged.

"You said it doesn't matter."

"Yes, but-" Sakura sighed. "Never mind." They stopped at a restaurant and went in. A group of people crowded around a table waved at them to come over.

"Oi, Sasuke!" A blond man called out. "Who's your friend?"

"Come on." Sasuke muttered at Sakura, who obliged quietly. The smell of food was appealing.

"What's up," Sasuke said and he made room for two people. Sakura sat timidly next to Sasuke, uncomfortable around all the humans. "Everyone, this is Haruno Sakura. She's visiting a relative nearby and staying at my house." Sasuke glared at Ino and Naruto to not spill the beans. "So then, everyone introduce yourself to Haruno Sakura…"

"I'm Nara Shikamaru." A bored looking boy with a spiky ponytail raised a hand in greeting.

"Akimichi Chouji." A chubby boy muttered between bites of food.

"Yamanaka Ino. We've met before." The blonde winked at her. Sakura smiled a little.

"I'm Tenten… no need to know my last name!" A friendly looking girl with two buns on her head grinned at her.

"Uzumaki Naruto, the one and only… and the BEST." A blonde boy smiled at her.

"Inuzuka Kiba. This here is Akamaru." A boy with a wild hairstyle motioned to a white dog lying next to him.

"Aburame Shino." Sakura shuddered a little as she saw little black bugs crawl over his face.

"That's about everyone, isn't it?" Sasuke muttered. "Now order the food, I'm hungry."

* * *

Neji fought with grim pleasure with the four Devils. He was positive that these four Devils were the one tracking down Sakura. "I won't forgive you for that," He muttered and elbowed a Devil. He caught her by the throat. "Where is Sakura?" He snarled. 

"W-Who?" She gasped, scratching desperately at Neji's hand.

"The. Angel. You. Were. Chasing." Neji tightened the grip.

"I don't know! She- she fell…" Neji sighed and let the Devil go. The other three Devils swooped down and grabbed her. "Get out of my sight." He muttered. "I don't have the time to deal with you." With that, he turned quickly and dove straight down.

* * *

Sakura couldn't explain the feeling she had in her stomach. She wasn't exactly feeling sick, but it felt like as if she had fluttering butterflies in her stomach. She looked around at the laughing people and felt the feeling increase. "Excuse me," She gasped and stumbled out of the restaurant. 

She inhaled the cold air and gasped. "So… many… humans!" She looked back at the window to the humans. _But it's not… bad… I felt warm…_ Sakura hugged herself tightly and stretched.

"You feeling okay?" Ino's voice called out to her.

"Oh, yes!" Sakura said, giggling a little. Ino approached her and sat down on the steps. "I've never been around so many hu- people before." She said.

"You haven't?" Ino sounded incredulously. Sakura shook her head and let out a breath.

"But… I think it feels… nice?" Sakura said, smiling at Ino. She smiled back.

"Come on, I'm freezing. Let's go back in." She said, getting up. Sakura jumped up too.

Naruto was singing in a slurred voice. "What's wrong with him?" Sakura asked, eyeing Naruto. Shikamaru laughed.

"He's just drunk. We'll take him home." Shikamaru and Chouji dragged Naruto out of the chair and waved goodbye.

"We should probably get going too." The friends each stood up and waved goodbye.

Sasuke and Sakura walked home in silence. "Do you remember anything?" Sasuke asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you remember when you were human?"

"No." Sakura said so instantly that Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I- I'm not sure if I want to remember."

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid…" The corner of Sakura's teal eyes began to gather moisture and she ducked her head. Sasuke watched her in horror. She was acting just like Ayame when she was scared. _Ayumi…_ Sasuke thought painfully. He squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped his arms around Sakura. She gasped at the sudden embrace.

But his warmth surrounded her and she closed her eyes comfortably. "Ayumi…" Sasuke whispered in her ear. Sakura looked up and stared into Sasuke's pale face. _Who is this Ayumi?_ Sakura wondered, and she stiffened.

Sasuke felt her tense and let her go. Then he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I just thought you looked like you needed a hug." Sasuke said, and turned to walk away.

"Thank you." Sakura murmured.

* * *

Sakura was making breakfast for Sasuke and herself when someone knocked on the door. 

"Sakura!" It was Ino's voice. Sakura eagerly stepped forward and opened the door. The tall blonde had her hair loose and had thrown it all down on her left shoulder. The rippling hair gleamed like sunlight and cascaded down her collarbone to her stomach. "How have you been? Sasuke hasn't been too mean to you, has he?"

"Very funny, Ino." Sasuke's voice growled from the bathroom.

Ino giggled and patted Sakura's shoulder. "Really, how has it been going?"

"Pretty nicely. I've been doing some cleaning… as a payment for letting me stay here, you know. I don't have any money." Sakura shrugged her shoulders.

"Do you want to go hang around? I'll show you around town." Ino pushed Sakura out the door. "Sasuke, I'm borrowing Sakura, okay?" She yelled over her shoulder.

"Wait, where are you taking her?"

"Don't worry, I'll bring her back unharmed." Ino left out a fake mwa-ha-ha. Sakura stared at her with fascination. This was something she didn't see among Angels.

Ino slammed the door shut and drowned out Sasuke's yelling. "Now let's go!" Ino shouted, and grabbed Sakura's arm.

"Wouldn't Sasuke be mad?"

"Mad? Oh, that's how he's like everyday." Ino flashed her perfect white teeth at her. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"Um, okay." Sakura said, and she followed Ino.

Ino showed her around town. It seemed different from what she saw that night. It was bright, sunny and glamorous. "this looks different from the night." Ino's smile went out like a light.

"Oh. Yeah." Ino smiled a little. "Yeah, it's best if you don't wander around at night alone. You know, the town changes from night and day…" Ino smiled weakly at her. Sakura giggled nervously.

"Let's go get something to drink, shall we?" Ino asked, changing the subject, and pointed to a cheerful-looking café. Sakura followed her. She thought it would be a chance to ask Ino about a question that was nagging her in the back of her head.

They both ordered Bubble Tea, Ino strawberry flavored and Sakura mint flavored. Sakura held the cup close to her and drank through the large straw. "Um, Ino…"

"Yes?" Ino's bright eyes looked gently into Sakura's green ones.

"I have a question about Sasuke…"

"Ask away."

"Do you know a person named… Ayum-"

"Check please!" Ino suddenly shouted at the waitress. "Hurry up!" She ordered. She slammed some money on the table. "Come on, I'm going to get you home. Sasuke would be worried, and he'd kill me if we're late."

"But we just got here!"

"Did we? Oh well, we'll window shop on the way."

"But Ino, about my question…"

"Come on, Sakura, there's a really pretty dress there!" Ino hurried away. Sakura followed her in a quick, inhuman pace. She grabbed Ino's arm and twisted her around.

"Ino." Sakura said, staring widely into Ino's eyes. "I need to know."

* * *

Neji landed silently on the ground. He had been on the ground before, only on missions. He folded his wings tightly and walked quietly. Neji was thankful for the darkness; he learned that humans weren't really accustomed to wings. 

Neji crouched down and looked around for clues. Any blood, feathers, ripped piece of clothing?

None.

Neji bit his bottom lip angrily. _I'm going to have to go back and bring more Angels to help me._ He thought. He didn't want to leave; he wanted to search the whole place until he found the Angel he loved.

But he had no choice. He had to go back for more reinforcements. Neji looked around one last time.

"I'm going to be back, Sakura." He said aloud, hoping that somehow, his voice would carry itself into Sakura's ears.

With that, he ran forward slightly, snapped his wings open gracefully and flew.

**It's gotten quite good, hasn't it? Hehe, if I do say so myself. I think this story is on a roll, a lot of friends have complimented me on it after reading it. Anyway, REVIEWS would be helpful. Yeah! REVIEWS please!!!!!!**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sakura still clutched her cup of Bubble Tea.

Ino crinkled her eyebrows a little to remind that Sakura was squeezing her arm a little too hard.

"I'm sorry." Sakura said, and loosened her grip. Ino grimaced and massaged her arm.

"What are you? Some kind of superhuman?" She grumbled. Sakura's lips twisted a smile. _You'd be surprised. _She thought grimly.

"Anyway, please tell me who Ayumi is." Sakura watched as Ino sighed exasperatedly.

"She's…" Ino sighed again and slapped a hand on her forehead. "She's Sasuke's girlfriend." Ino glanced up. "Well, she used to be."

"Where is she now?" Sakura asked quietly.

"She's-" Ino's eyes darted around as if searching for an escape. "She's dead." Sakura's eyes widened.

"Oh." She hadn't expected this answer. "When?" She asked.

"Six years ago… in a car accident. Sasuke witnessed it all." Ino mumbled and sat down on the sidewalk. "She was just in front of him, laughing and waving at him. She was about to cross the road to come to him, and Sasuke had his arms out to hug her…" Ino's voice cracked. "And then the car came and crashed into her." Ino glared through her tears at Sakura. "Who told you about Ayumi? Was it Naruto? I am going to kill that loudmouth!" She screamed and punched the brick sidewalk. Some people stopped walking and stared at her.

"No, no. It wasn't Naruto." Sakura said wildly, trying to think of an excuse. "I just heard Sasuke mention her a couple of times before." Ino closed her eyes and covered her head.

"Yeah, I kinda guessed that he was still traumatized about her death." She muttered. "To tell you the truth, we all were." Ino sighed. "She… basically changed our life you know." Ino lowered her eyes to the ground. "Before we met her, our lives were pretty much like crap. All of us were drug-addicts, all the girls were prostitutes, yes, including me," Ino gave shocked Sakura a little shamed smile. "The guys were always into fights with the other gangs. That's how Naruto got his marks on his cheeks." Ino tapped her cheeks. "You know those whisker-marks? Those are scars from when he was fighting. Apparently this sick guy thought it would be amusing to carve whiskers into his skin." Ino's face paled in anger. "Those shitheads." She muttered under her breath.

Sakura flinched at the language.

"Sasuke was probably the worst of us. And then-" Ino's face softened. "And then he met Ayumi." Ino's face started to lighten up. "She was a girl with big dreams. She wanted to start a photo company, and she found Sasuke. Although he doesn't look like it, he was a great photographer. Ayumi gave him a job, but after Sasuke's absence for a few weeks, she went to his apartment and found all the… junk he had." Ino crossed her legs. "Sasuke was really mad when Ayumi cleaned out all the drugs he had. But then, Ayumi started getting to know him, and she started helping him get over his addiction… and then it started influencing all of us. She was apparently from a rich family, and she helped us get over our debts, got the girls out of prostitution, made us go to programs where they help you get over your addiction…" Ino was crying now. "You saw most of us that night, didn't you? Didn't you see how happy we all looked? It was because…" Ino sobbed. "It was because of Ayumi."

Sakura reached out and patted Ino gently on her shoulder. She sobbed and buried her face in Sakura's shoulder.

"Sasuke must've loved her very much." Sakura whispered.

"Mm-hmm." Ino hiccupped. "He never dated after Ayumi died." Ino searched in her pockets and took out her wallet. "This is her."

A faded picture was poking from one of the pockets. Sakura gently wiggled it out and looked at it.

A girl was staring at the photographer with a slightly puzzled expression on her face, like as if the photographer had taken her picture by surprise. She had long black hair with blue eyes. Sakura saw that although Ayumi had different hair and eye color, she definitely resembled Ayumi somewhat.

"Do I- do I look like her?" Sakura mumbled. Ino took a moment to answer.

"Yes," was her final answer. "You do. But-" Ino looked at Sakura with hard eyes. "Although you're my friend, I'm warning you. If you think you can take over Sasuke's heart with just your appearance, you better think again." Ino gripped Sakura's arms tightly, but she didn't wince. It didn't hurt. "He's a stronger person now."

"I'm not going to take over Sasuke's heart." Sakura said. "I was just curious about Ayumi." Ino sighed in relief.

"Yeah, I know you wouldn't do that… but still, I'm sort of worried that he'd fall into his old self again…"

Sakura watched as Ino turned away and walked slowly. "Let's go home," Ino said. "I'm sort of tired right now."

* * *

Neji flew down the white steps into Hinata's room. Hinata was basically his cousin. That was- Hinata's mother was Neji's mother's best friend. They were so close that everyone just said that they were sisters, which made Neji and Hinata basically cousins. 

"Hinata!" Neji yelled and he banged on the white door. A girl with long, blue-streaked black hair opened the door timidly.

"Wh-What is it, Neji?"

Although they weren't exactly related, Hinata and Neji had the same white eyes. Sometimes Neji thought that maybe their mothers were really sisters when they were human.

"Sakura's… missing…" Neji collapsed from exhaustion on the doorstep. Hinata let out a squeak and guided him in her room. "We need reinforcement to go after her. Hinata, will you come with me?"

Hinata knew that Sakura was Neji's fiancé, and knew how Neji loved her very much. Hinata liked Sakura also, and couldn't bear the thought of how Neji would suffer without her. "O-okay!" Hinata said, and rushed in her closet to change into more sturdy clothes. Neji sighed in relief and ran for some more reinforcements.

However, she came back quickly. Neji crinkled his eyebrows at her. She bowed her head remorsely. "I-I'm sorry, Neji, but... they said you have a mission now. You aren't allowed to rescue Sakura just now."

"What?" Neji 's heart felt like as if it was being stabbed over and over.

"S-sorry, Neji, but wait for a few weeks. And also... it looks like we'll have to go by ourselves." Neji sighed at this, but then brightened himself up. Hinata was a strong Angel. She would be a better helper.

Besides, it was only a few weeks.

Nothing would happen... right?

* * *

The four devils flew silently down to Hell. "How's your neck, Karin?" One of the devils asked. The long-haired Devil grimaced. 

"It makes me feel sick." She growled, squinting into the dark. "Damn, that Angel bastard broke my glasses." She whipped the broken ones off her face and threw them down.

"Well, I just hope the Lord Orochimaru isn't mad at us." One of the other Devils muttered, worried. Karin's heart went cold when she heard the name.

Lord Orochimaru was the ruler of where they lived- Hell. He gave out misery to the world, made war, sent Devils to bother the Angels' missions, and loved Chaos.

Every Devil respected him.

They also feared him.

The Devils flew quietly down, and trotted over to their dungeons. "I'll see you later." Karin muttered to the other three and went to her dungeon.

In the dungeon were cells for rooms. She opened one caged door and stepped inside her room. A black bed was placed on the side, with a black desk with white papers spilled all around it. Karin stomped over to her bed and dropped on the bed with exhaustion. She spread her wings out and stretched it.

Her throat throbbed and she rolled over and coughed several times. She gasped for air as she massaged her neck.

Suddenly, in a surge of anger, Karin rolled off her bed and slammed her fist angrily against the already-cracked wall. Pieces of rocks crumbled off. Karin was too blinded with anger to be aware of the pain.

"You idiot." A voice drawled from the entrance to her room. Karin whipped around to see Sai, a friend of hers. "Do take care of yourself. You're one of the best fighters we have, you know." Karin growled angrily and wrenched her fist from the hole. A few more pieces of brick fell out.

Finally pain caught up to her, and Karin's eyes started to water. Sai watched coldly as Karin dropped to her knees and cradled her injured hand. "I'm assuming your sudden burst of anger has something to do with your fight with the Angels?" Sai asked with amusement in his voice. Karin muttered an answer.

"Yeah." She snapped. "I was chasing an Angel and she got wounded and fell to the ground. Later another Angel pursued us and nearly strangled me to death. Is that enough reason to be mad, you think?" Karin asked. Sai raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess." Sai crossed his arms. "So what are you planning to do now?" He already knew the answer. Karin was a person who believed in revenge; she would chase that female Angel down and kill her. And, if the male Angel tried to stop her, she would fight him too.

"I'm going to find that Angel, but I won't kill her." Sai looked at Karin in mild surprise. "Instead, I'm going to hide in the shadows and make her life miserable."

"Whoa, where did you get that idea from?"

"Mental Torture. I read about it in one of the Forbidden Libraries." Karin turned her head towards Sai. "Apparently it's going to way more painful that killing?"

"Oh." Sai felt anticipation as he thought about it. "Can I help? It sounds fun." Karin shrugged.

"Yeah, the more Devils I have, the better it will be, anyway."

"So when do we start?"

"In a few weeks, but start packing." Karin smirked as she thought of the pathetic pink-haired Angel.

**Well, that's the end of chapter 3. When I chose the Angels to go look for Sakura, I was kinda stumped cuz I used up most of the ninjas as Sasuke's friends. So I didn't really choose anyone. But I wasn't too happy with that, cuz… I dunno, if Neji loved Sakura truly, which he does in my fanfic, he would do anything to find more Angels? Anyway, what is Karin and Sai up to? Find out on the next chapter!**

**Oh yeah. Reviews are important. Very important. **

**Very. **

**Very important. **

**Okay, I'll stop now and start working on chapter 4. **


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sakura crinkled her eyebrows in concentration and stared intensely at the cookbook. "What are you doing?" Sasuke asked as he walked in the room.

"Teaching myself how to cook." Sakura muttered, flipping a few pages.

"Why?"

"Because, I don't learn these things in Heaven, and I think it'll be fun to learn." Sakura's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as she saw Sasuke roll his eyes.

"Anyway, come with me. My friends want me to show you to studio we work in." Sakura jumped up in eagerness.

"The place where you take photos?" She asked, and she folded her wings tightly against her back.

"Yeah, yeah. You'll get to see people who weren't at the dinner that night." Sakura beamed at Sasuke. He felt himself go strangely warm inside, but shook his head.

"I'm ready! Let's go now!" Sakura squealed and ran out the door. Sasuke sighed as he watched her sprint down the steps.

"Are we going to talk about Heaven again?" Sakura asked Sasuke. He looked at her.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because, every time we walk to meet your friends, all we talked about was Heaven and Angels." Sakura smiled at him. "But it's fine. I actually like the fact that someone wants to know about us." Sasuke sighed.

"Well, if you insist on telling me, go ahead and talk." Sasuke muttered.

"Well, when humans die and become Angels, they change to the time when they were the most beautiful, no matter how old they were when they died. Plus certain changes are made in their features, like the hair color, or eye color, or skin tone, and something like that. Angels don't age either, so age doesn't exactly matter when they marry each other." Sasuke whipped his head around.

"Wait, what? So like, the guy can be about a thousand years old and the girl just twenty, and they can still marry?" Sasuke's voice was hinted with disgust.

"What is up with you and making everything sound bad?" Sakura asked in a slight annoyance. "When humans die and become Angels, it's like living a life where they don't age. Well actually, when you die you age for some years and then you stop growing old. Basically, even though you lived, say, a thousand years, you're still twenty. Your age just basically stops. The same goes with Full-Angels."

"Is the Angels that you're engaged to by any chance way older than you?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Sakura.

"Only by a year. He's 23." Sakura said defensively.

"How many _years_ has he lived as an Angel?" Sasuke asked testily. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Only fifty."

"_Only_ fifty?"

"Please, Sasuke! Stop making it sound so bad. He's just 23!"

"Who lived about fifty years?"

"Stop it!"

There was an uncomfortable silence between them.

"How many years you lived actually counts as how intelligent you are, you know." Sakura muttered, a little miffed. "Among Angels, I'm just still counted as a little kid." Then a dreamy looked crossed over Sakura's face. "Except for Neji. He's so considerate, he listens to what I say, and he makes me laugh…" Sakura shot Sasuke a look and muttered under her breath. "Unlike some other people I had the misfortune to meet."

"We're here." Sasuke said loudly, ignoring Sakura's last comment. A loud hello welcomed them in.

"Sakura! Come in!" Naruto bounded forward, ignoring Sasuke and pulled her into a hug. Sakura blushed at the sudden embrace. _Why must he always come at me so surprisingly?_

"Meet the people you didn't see before!" Naruto guided Sakura away from Sasuke and to a group of people. "That's Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro." Naruto said cheerfully, pointing at the three people sitting by a desk. "Kankuro and Temari are in charge of the props, and Gaara is one of the models."

"H-hi." Sakura said, and she raised her hand shyly. They all returned the greeting.

"Sakura!" Sakura heard a squeal that she was so familiar with.

"Ino!" Sakura said joyfully and she hugged the tall blonde. "You work here too?" She asked.

"Everyone works here!" Ino said, plopping down on a chair and patted the stool next to her for Sakura to sit down. "I'm a model, Kiba trains all the animals we use for photos, Tenten is in charge of costumes, Chouji is the person who gets all the food for us, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Shino takes the pictures, but sometimes Sasuke models too." Sakura stared in awe.

"Everybody is so… important in the jobs, aren't they?" Sakura stammered a little. Ino laughed good-naturedly.

"Yeah, I guess so." Ino looked carefully at Sakura. "Hey, maybe you can model too!" Sakura looked at Ino.

"Huh?"

"Model! You're pretty enough; I think you can do it!"

"Th-thank you, but…"

"Hey, you guys, let's give Sakura a chance to model!" Ino shouted over her shoulder at the people.

"Sure, why not. It'll be troublesome though." Shikamaru muttered. "Tenten, take Sakura to the costume room. You know the theme, right?" He ordered.

"Yeah, yeah. Sakura, if you could follow me?" Tenten smiled at Sakura. Sakura, feeling shy, followed her carefully.

"What's the theme?" Sakura asked.

"Vampires." Tenten whipped her head around and looked at Sakura up and down. "I'd say you're about… this size." She pulled out a long, wine-purple dress with frills at the collar and the cuffs. It looked like on of the dresses queens used to wear long time ago, only less fancier. "Take your time changing. Those zippers can be pretty complicated." Suddenly Sasuke burst in.

"You're going to model?" He demanded. "No, you're not." He snapped even before she answered.

"Why not? She's pretty enough to model."

"Yes, I know that, but she can't because-" Sasuke stopped himself just in time. Sakura had been wondering what she would do with her wings anyway.

"Because what? You don't have a reason!" Tenten snapped back.

"Fine. But change the theme."

"What? Change the theme?"

"Yeah, from Vampires to Angels and Vampires. You have wings for costumes, don't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Good, then go get them." Tenten rolled her eyes and walked off. Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Sasuke."

"Yeah, whatever. Be more careful next time." Tenten returned with a pair of realistic-looking wings.

In the changing room, Sakura unfolded her wings and slipped the dress on. Fortunately, the dresses had a lot of folds, so two slits for the wings weren't visible. She shoved the costume wings under the bench and stepped out.

Outside, Gaara was arguing with Shikamaru. "I'm telling you, I can't model for this thing!" Gaara insisted.

"Why not?" Shikamaru snapped back, tired of arguing.

"I rolled down the stairs by accident yesterday and I scraped my gums. Thos plastic fangs are going to hurt." He complained. Shikamaru sighed.

"This is so troublesome. Fine, Sasuke, you're up." Shikamaru went back to his camera and Sasuke went to the costume room.

When he came out, he was complete with fangs, long blood-red fingernails, and a dark costume. "Don't worry," He muttered softly to Sakura. "I'll try to cover up for your wings if you get in trouble." Sakura smiled a little at him.

"Okay, get into position." Shino called out, and without warning, Sasuke slid his hand under her knee and pulled slightly so that Sakura was jerked backward. He wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulders to support her.

_This is very awkward._ Sakura thought, not knowing where to look.

"Sakura, tilt your head back and go limp." Shino ordered, and Sakura obliged. Sasuke leaned in towards her throat and opened his mouth, revealing two sets of pointed fangs. Shikamaru let out a sigh.

"Sakura, you're expression is _so_ not afraid. Try again." Sakura tried to think frantically to arrange her expression.

"Just think of the thing that makes you afraid the most." Sasuke whispered. Sakura thought for a moment until she thought of the Devils that pursued her. She immediately froze and widened her eyes in fear.

Cameras clicked away and Ino clapped in approval. "I like the wings, Tenten. They look real."

"Thanks, Ino. I really worked hard on them." Tenten smiled and Sakura and Sasuke shared a glance.

After a few more poses, the shoot finally finished and Sakura changed into her old clothes again.

An awkward silence passed over them as Sasuke and Sakura walked home. "What were you thinking about when you were thinking about the thing that scared you the most?" Sasuke asked Sakura quietly. Sakura looked taken aback at the question, then lowered her head. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want." Sasuke quickly added, but Sakura shook her head.

"Devils… I was thinking of Devils. They were chasing me the night you found me." Sakura shivered a little. "They look like Angels, but with black wings… They scared me so much." Sakura's eyes began to gather moisture from the memory. Sasuke didn't know what to say, so he merely walked on.

"Thank you, Sasuke. I don't know what I would have done without you." Sakura murmured, smiling slightly at him.

Sasuke's inside felt like as if they suddenly felt cold and hot at the same time. He just stared at her in her baggy clothes, from the top of her pink head to her rain boots.

Without warning, he took off.

"Sasuke?" He heard Sakura yell questioningly after him, but he ran on. _I… need to get this feeling off me._ He gasped for air. _I haven't felt this way since… Ayumi died. _

He skidded to a halt in front of a field of cosmos. _The place where Ayumi and I used to walk along._ He sprinted again.

_The café Ayumi used to work in. _A waitress waved sadly at him, recognizing him as dead Ayumi's boyfriend.

_The woods where Ayumi used to take her pictures._ Sasuke remembered when he first realized his love for Ayumi there.

_The lake we celebrated our first anniversary together._ Sasuke had fired fireworks off, watching in satisfaction as Ayumi's face lighted up with delight.

_The place where Ayumi is now._ A small graveyard was under a white cherry blossom tree. He fell to his knees there. Tears mixed with sweat began to roll down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Ayumi…" He sobbed.

"I think I fell in love with another person."

* * *

Neji and Hinata swooped silently down to the ground. "I-I've never been this close to the ground before." Hinata whispered. Neji shrugged and folded his wings. 

"Try to look for clues of where Sakura is. We need to find her. _I_ need her." Neji whispered urgently and looked wildly around. Hinata nodded and used her keen Angel's eyes to search the ground.

"Neji!" Hinata grabbed Neji's arm. "Look…" Neji squinted into the dark.

Yes, it was there. The trail of blood was scattered and small, but it didn't escape Neji's sharp eyesight. "Do you think it's Sakura?" He asked. Hinata nodded.

"It has to be. She was injured when she fell, right?" She whispered, and followed the trail of blood. "And even if the trail disappears, we'll have a general direction of where she'll be." Neji smiled at Hinata's brilliance.

"You're right." He said, and folded his wings tighter to his back. He had been on the ground before, and realized the hard way that people who lived here weren't that accustomed to wings. "Fold your wings tighter, Hinata."

"Why?"

"The people living here won't like it."

"…oh."

* * *

Karin and Sai both flew down. During her chase, she had been injured slightly on her arm and her blood had dripped down on Sakura's bare shoulder. Devil's blood was hard to get off, no matter how much you scrubbed. Karin smirked. She could smell her own scent of blood and it was getting stronger. Sensing Karin's excitement, Sai glanced down. 

"Is that where that Angel is now?" He asked. Karin grinned even wider.

"Yes." Whipping her head back to Sai, she snarled a reminder. "Don't forget our plan. If you do anything that's not planned, I'll personally rip your pretty neck out and make you disappear." Sai rolled his black eyes at this.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just an audience anyway. I'll do most of the watching."

Karin growled. _You better._ She thought venomously.

But Karin's worries disappeared as she caught another whiff of her own blood, only stronger. _Just you wait,_ She thought. _I'll find your weakness soon, and you'll regret existing._

A hundred miles down below, Sakura arrived at Sasuke's apartment. The key jerked stopped inches away from the lock. Frowning, she looked up. "The sky looks sinister today…" She thought out loud. Then she shrugged, unlocked the door, and went inside.

**How was that?! Karin and Sai are up to something, revenge on Sakura probably, and Neji and Hinata are getting close to bringing back Sakura!**

…**poor Sasuke, he's suffering so much from love.**

**What will Sakura do?**

**Oh well, that's up to you to find out, and for me to write!**

**Reviews would be…. VERY HELPFUL.**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sakura was sleeping in her usual place, the little cozy spot she made on the couch. In her sleep she could hear Sasuke coming in quietly. She stirred, but was too tired to open her eyes. _Oh well, I can talk to him later…_ She thought blearily.

"Good morning, Sasuke." Sakura sat up. He jumped. Then he turned, his eyes looking colder than usual. After staring at her for a while, he grunted and turned away. Sakura tilted her head sideways. "Are you not feeling well, Sasuke?" She asked in a concerned voice. He didn't answer.

Sakura looked down at the stack of newspapers he was holding tightly in his hands. "What's that?"

"I'm finding a place for you to live." He snapped, literally ripping the newspapers open. Sakura squinted at Sasuke.

"Why?"

"Because, this apartment's for one person anyway, and you're annoying." He growled. Sakura stepped back, hurt slightly. She thought that she and Sasuke had been getting along pretty well.

"I'm sorry…" She muttered, looking at her feet.

"Whatever." In truth, Sasuke wanted to be alone… He wanted to be away from Sakura, clear his mind, and devote his heart to Ayumi again.

She gave him her life, basically…

So in return, he would give his heart to her.

And no one was going to stop him.

Not even a wounded Angel.

Sasuke bit down on his lip, hard, and stared at gray papers filled with cramped black words.

* * *

Karin and Sai arrived. As soon as they touched ground, they immediately changed their appearances; Karin's black hair turned blood-red, her glasses fell to the ground and shattered, her eyes grew icy blue, and her pale skin grew slightly tan. 

Sai's short hair grew shoulder-length, but that was all the changes he went through.

"Why don't you change your appearance more?" Karin snapped at him. He merely shrugged.

"That Angel doesn't know me, does she?" Sai asked in that oh-so-calm voice. "I'll be safe." Karin rolled her eyes.

"Well, I suppose it _is_ your neck." She snapped, and walked without looking back. Sai merely followed.

Karin walked on harshly, looking as if she was stamping a cigarette off all the way down the sidewalk. She stopped when the scent of her own blood got nearer.

Then she saw the Angel.

* * *

Sakura puffed an icy breath and watched it melt away. She rubbed her hands together in an attempt to warm them. Then she spotted a red-haired woman staring at her. _What an interesting hair-color…_ She thought, and then mentally slapped her hand on her forehead at the irony. _Oh geez, my hair's an unusual hair-color… Who am I to say hers is weird?_

She looked lost.

"Excuse me, do you need help?" Sakura, out of her pure innocent goodness, asked. The girl flinched and stepped back. A young man seemed to appear out of nowhere and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry," He said airily. "My friend here is a bit slow." He had a bit of arrogance in his voice that reminded Sakura strongly of Sasuke. The red-haired girl wriggled free from her grasp and looked at Sakura. Her icy blue eyes made Sakura shiver inwardly.

"I'm sorry; we're new here, so I was feeling a bit off." She smiled a little. Sakura smiled back.

"Really? I'm new here too. I came here a few days ago." Sakura paused and thought. "Actually, about a few weeks…" Sakura's eyes widened. "I guess time flew." She chuckled a bit.

Karin stared at the pink-haired before her and felt nothing but hatred toward her. _Just wait until I get my hands around your pretty neck and you won't be smiling anymore, bitch. _She thought venomously.

Sai eyed the Angel in front of them. She looked weak. _It looks like Karin's revenge is definitely going to work on her. She looks so weak._ Sai sighed. _I can tell it's going to boring. Maybe I should've just stayed home…_

Sakura beamed at Sai and Karin. "My name's Sakura, what's yours?" She asked. Karin beamed in return, and Sai cringed. _Ugh, Karin… smiling? That's so not… her. _

"I'm…" Karin paused for a split second, thinking quickly, and resumed, "…Hanako." She looked back at Sai.

"Masakuzu." Sai nodded an acknowledgement at Sakura, noting on how pink her hair was.

"Pleased to meet you!" Sakura shook their hands, and looked around for a moment. "Would you like to drink something? I know a good café… my friend works there part-time." She said, remembering Tenten.

Tenten was in running around the café, getting orders as quickly as possible. Ino sat lazily at the counter, watching her in amusement. She raised a hand as she saw Sakura approach. "Hey! I didn't know you knew Tenten worked here." She said.

"I just overheard…" Sakura said, and introduced Sai and Karin as Masakuzu and Hanako. Ino smiled good-naturedly at them.

"Sit by us, why don't you?" She said, patting the stools next to her. Tenten scurried over, her cheeks flushed pink.

"Ino, you're such a bitch, not helping me with the orders." She muttered under her breath, crossing her arms. Ino shrugged.

"Not my job, is it?" She asked. Sakura's head perked up.

"Could I help?" Sakura asked eagerly, jumping up. Karin and Sai both cringed. _Angel friendliness… Erugh. _They both thought.

"Oh, it's fine." Tenten said, waving her away, but Sakura stared pleadingly at her.

"I would _love_ to help, Tenten!" She gasped, holding Tenten's hands. Tenten stared at the girl.

"Uh… okay. Follow me and you can get a uniform…"

"Is it possible if I get a job permanently?" She asked. Tenten looked at her, puzzled.

"Why would you do that? You're not staying here forever, are you?" Ino asked, sipping her drink.

"Well, Sasuke just basically kicked me out of his apartment…" Sakura muttered, avoiding her friends' gaze.

"Really? About time- I mean, uh, okay." Ino's face reddened at the slip. "You can stay at my house, it's a two-bedroom apartment anyway. No charge." She said. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Oh, I couldn't! Sasuke's looking for an apartment for me, and I better have enough money to afford it…"

"Which, you won't, if you consider being a waitress." Tenten cut across her. "Just take her offer, it's not often when you see _Blondie_ here being so nice." Ino glared at her for a moment.

"Uh, okay… I'll move in a few days later…" Sakura stammered, holding the uniform Tenten handed over.

Sai and Karin watched the whole speech, trying to absorb as much information as possible. Karin's mind was racing.

_Sakura's living with a man named Sasuke, it seems like she has two close friends, she's soon going to moving out and staying out at that tall girl named Ino. Tenten and Ino doesn't look like they get along, but it seems like they don't mind._ Karin shook her head in disgust. Human emotions always sickened her.

Sai, on the other hand, was watching this with amusements. He always liked to see Humans fight. He had once deliberately caused two humans to fight once.

It wasn't pretty, but Sai had enjoyed it immensely.

* * *

Sasuke flinched as Sakura came inside the apartment. She smiled feebly at him, and looked away quickly.

"…You don't need to find me an apartment." She said, trying not to get on his nerves.

"What are you talking about? I want you _out._" He said coldly, but at the same time he felt a stab at his heart.

"I'm… staying at Ino's for a while." She whispered. Why was Sasuke acting like this, she had no idea.

"Hn, at least you'll be out." Sasuke spat out. A part of him wanted to whip around, and fall to his knees, beg for forgiveness, explain his feelings to her, but a stronger part of him ordered him to keep still.

Sasuke bunched the newspapers in his hand and threw them in the trashcan. Suddenly he heard a loud sob behind him. He turned and looked at Sakura.

She was _crying._

"Why- Why are you acting like this?" She sobbed, tears dripping down her cheeks. "You-you were so nice before!"

"You were injured." He answered coldly.

"That's the only reason?"

"The only one." Sasuke snapped. His heart twitched.

"I see…" Sakura sniffed, and dragged the back of her hand across her eyes.

Without warning, she burst out, wailing.

Sasuke stood in the darkness, staring at the floor.

_You did good,_ He told himself. _That's it, Sasuke, just focus on Ayumi._

"She was dead for six years." He argued back.

_She gave her life to you. Devoted it to you. Are you going to waste it?_

"I-I…"

_That's right. You're just being stubborn. Why don't you try listening to me for once?_

"I DO!" Sasuke yelled. "EVERYDAY I LISTEN TO YOUR ADVICE, HOLDING BACK, STILL CLUTCHING TO AYAME…" Sasuke dropped to his knees. "I NEED TO LET HER GO!"

_You're being stupid again,_ The little voice inside him warned. _Think of Ayumi._

"Ayumi wouldn't have wanted me to hold on to her. She never wanted to be a burden in her entire life." He snapped.

_What's done is done. Sakura left. Are you able to pull your prideful self down to your knees and beg for her forgiveness?_

"I…"

_I thought so._

* * *

Sakura felt arms hold her. Her tears were wiped away by soft fingers. Sakura turned her head and saw who was holding her.

"Oh, Masakuzu," She strangled out. The young man smiled a bit at her. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this."

"It's fine, everyone cries once in a while." He said, his voice low and gentle. "A walk always cheers me up." He said and he walked away. Sakura followed him quickly.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Masakuzu asked, sounding careless. Sakura shook her head.

"Not yet."

"Mn." He answered. He sat down on a bench and Sakura sat down next to him. Sakura was aware of him staring at her. "You're very pretty, do you know that?"

"Thank you." Sakura said, surprised a bit. Masakuzu stared at her a bit more.

Suddenly he leaned in…

And his lips met hers.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Wha-" She asked, and he withdrew.

"You looked lonely." Masakuzu said cheerfully. "You looked like you needed a kiss." With that, he walked away without looking back.

Sakura froze.

She slowly touched her lips with the tips of her fingers.

Luckily it wasn't a first. Sakura blushed as she remembered that romantic night with Neji.

Sakura looked back at Masakuzu with narrowed eyes. She was going to have to be careful of that one.

She headed to Ino's house, forgetting why she was crying in the first place.

_Masakuzu was right, I guess._ Sakura thought. _A kiss does cheer a person up._

* * *

Sasuke felt his heart boil.

That man- whoever he was- how dare he kiss Sakura? He watched as Sakura slowly touched her lips and walked away with a light spring in her step.

Feelings for apologies immediately evaporated in his mind, replaced with anger.

Sasuke felt himself shake all over.

He had forced his pride down and was about to chase Sakura when he saw that man- do that to her!

_What am I going to do?_ He thought. _I can't lose her._

* * *

Neji and Hinata arrived at the town. Luckily they had gotten the clothes humans wore beforehand, and were looking as normal as possible.

"What now?" Hinata asked, looking around at the foreign-looking place.

"We ask for Sakura."

"How do we do that?" Hinata asked, her eyes wide. "There must be so many people here!"

Neji smiled at his cousin.

"You're forgetting something, Hinata. What makes Sakura's appearance so distinguishable from normal humans?" Neji paused. "Not including her wings."

A smile formed at Hinata's mouth and she grinned.

"Her hair color."

* * *

**Thank god, I'm finally done with chapter 5! No one has given me any reviews yet… which makes me kinda sad, but I will still continue to write my fanfic… even though no one would read it for thousands of years.**

**sobs**

**Reviews would be very nice for my moral support. **


	7. Author's Note

Author's Note:

**So! Yeah... **

**First, I'd like to apologize to everyone who's been reading my fanfic, which, i know isn't much. **

**The reason I kinda stopped writing it was because nobody was giving me reviews... and, i kinda felt unmotivated.**

**You know that feeling, when you feel like as if ur story sucks? **

**Okay, maybe you don't, but you get what i'm saying.**

**BUT, today, something amazing happened.**

**I was checking my e-mail, and i saw a mail from the fanfic site.**

**It said that bLiz had added me to his/her Story Alert Subscription!**

**After that, my motivation was back.**

**I actually have a bit of a chapter written, so write now i'm going to write it. **

**I would like to give a special thanks to bLiz, who helped me get my motivation back. Thanks, bLiz!**

**Please stay tuned for my next chapter!**


	8. Character Description

**Since it's been a while since I wrote this fic, I wrote myself this chart to go over the characters again, and decided that you guys might like to read it too!**

**Sakura- She's an Angel. She was wounded during a battle with the Devils, and fell to the Ground. Luckily she was found by Sasuke who let her stay wit him until she healed. She resembles Sasuke's dead girlfriend, and there's more to that later…**

**Sasuke- He used be a drug-addict, a street-fighter, also known as Dark Spiral. His girlfriend, Ayumi brought him out of his dark life, along with his friends. However, she died in a car crash. Sasuke was there to witness her death. He didn't date for six years after that. His hobby is to take pictures of beautiful things, because that's the promise he made with his dying mother when he was eight.**

**Neji- He is Sakura's fiancé. He's a full-angel unlike Sakura, which means that he was born as an Angel. Despite his cold, stoic expression, he is very kinda, understanding and warm on the inside. (At least in MY fanfic.) **

**Hinata- She is Neji's "cousin". She's also a full-angel. The reason why I have quotes around the world cousin is because in my fanfic, it's not confirmed if they really were related. Their mothers were just really close enough to be sisters. However, their eyes resemble, so other Angels often wonder if their mothers really **_**were**_** related when they were human. Btw, I'm having Hinata fall in love with a human when she comes down to the Ground. What paring should it be? I prefer KibaHina… but NaruHina I can manage too… Anyway, give me your opinions, readers!**

**Ino- She was one of Ayumi's close friends. She used to be a prostitute before Ayumi brought her out of it. She is therefore eternally thankful for Ayumi, and respects her even though she's now dead. In this fic, Sasuke and Ino are pretty close, but it's only like a brother-to-sister relationship, and nothing more. **

**Naruto- He is, I guess, Sasuke's best friend, although in this fic there will be some scenes where Sasuke beats the crap out of him. He's just your average Naruto; carefree, fun, and ramen-loving. In my fic it explains why he has those whisker-marks on his cheeks. He was in a street fight with another gang, and one of those guys thought it was amusing to carve whiskers into his skin.**

**Well, that's enough for now. I hope u enjoyed these character descriptions, even I needed to be refreshed of my memory!**

**Oh, and don't worry, my next chapter is nearly finished and only needs editting!**


	9. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sakura looked down at the piece of paper in her between her fingers.

-Flashback-

"_This is my address," Said Ino, scribbling on a scrap of paper. "Come here after you said goodbye to Sasuke." _

-End of Flashback-

Sakura was… lost.

She was not used to all the twist and turns of the roads, and much to her dismay, she had finally found herself in a place where she didn't recognize anymore.

"Oh no," She muttered, looking around. This place didn't exactly look like the safest place. A bunch of dark-looking people were hunched over together, smoking and muttering among themselves. A few bums were lying down, snoring loudly.

"Hey, Pinkie." A gravelly voice called out. Sakura whipped her head around in fear. One of the hoodlums was approaching her. "Wanna hang out?" His friends snickered in the background.

"N-No thank you." Sakura said. She backed away carefully.

"Come on, I know a good place where we can… hang around." The people in the background laughed hard. Sakura was, more confused.

"Uh…" She said, turned away to leave. But the man had grabbed her arms and pinned her to the wall. Sakura winced at the stench of his breath.

"Is your hair naturally pink?" He whispered into her ear, making her shudder. He was sliding his free hand under Sakura's shirt.

"No, please-" Suddenly the man had stepped back.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed, forgetting how cold Sasuke was acting. She was so glad to see him.

"Get lost." Sasuke spat at the man. He cracked his knuckles menacingly. The man snorted.

"Make me." He crossed his arms and smirked. He was larger than Sasuke, making him seem for threatening.

"You really don't want to see the Dark Spiral come back into action again, do you?" Sasuke asked in a low voice. The man flinched.

"You- you can't be-" But before he could finish, Sasuke had yanked down his collar to reveal three curved teardrop shaped marks on his shoulder.

"I don't want to repeat myself. Get lost." Sasuke threatened in a menacing voice. The man turned and left, running and tripping over loose boxes littered on the streets.

"S-Sasuke…" Sakura whispered. Suddenly Sasuke grabbed her arm and pulled her into a sprint.

Since Sakura was an Angel, she could run better and faster than an average human. However, Sakura stopped after the streets became familiar. Sasuke let her go without saying anything.

"How did you find me?" Sakura whispered after a moment of silence.

"I knew it was just going to be like you to get lost." He snapped. Sakura looked away, flushing with embarrassment.

"And…" Sasuke muttered. Sakura looked at him.

"…I missed you."

A breeze swept across the, swaying the tall grass around them, with the sunset setting behind them. (Sigh, it's so romantic… I wish there really _could_ be moments like that.)

Sakura and Sasuke just looked at each other for a while…

…and Sasuke inclined his head.

"Forgive me for all the cold words I said to you," He whispered. "I didn't mean any of them." Sasuke didn't feel ashamed; in fact he felt… mildly happy. Sakura immediately straightened Sasuke up, and smiled at him.

"There's nothing to forgive, Sasuke!" She said brightly. "You are a great friend!"

_A friend…_ Sasuke thought, half disappointed, half happy. Sasuke was happy that Sakura liked him after all, but he had hoped that Sakura would like him more…

But then again, Sakura had a fiancé, didn't she?

There was no way she was ever going to like him beyond as a friend.

But that was okay.

As long as Sasuke could stay near Sakura as a friend.

* * *

Neji looked back in alarm at Hinata as she suddenly fell to her knees, clutching her heart. 

"Hinata!" He exclaimed. "What happened?" Hinata didn't answer, but collapsed completely and coughed up blood.

_Oh no._ Neji was panicking behind his mask of forced calmness. He had to return to Heaven _now. _

Sakura… would have to wait.

Again.

Neji gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Fate seems to have something against me for rescuing Sakura." He grumbled under his breath and slung Hinata over his shoulder, now emitting hacking coughs.

With a heavy heart, Neji turned back and unfolded his wings to go back. It was going to take longer than usual, because of Hinata's weight.

* * *

Karin smirked a bit as she watched Sasuke and Sakura walk back. She had seen everything and understood what was going on; the man, Sasuke, had feelings for Sakura. It had taken Karin a while to figure it out, but it didn't matter. 

Karin tapped her bottom lip thoughtfully. _This might turn out better than I expected._ She thought, with an evil grin, she turned away to meet Sai.

* * *

Sasuke was teaching Sakura the concept of telephones. 

"See, each house has a certain series of numbers you can call to," Sasuke explained for the third time, his patience now wearing thin. "You press those numbers on this buttons, and you'll be able to call the house." Sakura clumsily pressed the numbers. "No, no! You have to press _six_, not _nine." _

"What difference does it make?" Sakura asked, frowning heavily at the electronic device in her hand.

Sasuke slapped a hand over his forehead, missed, and slapped his left eye instead. Sakura didn't notice.

"Who am I calling anyway?" She asked.

"Ino. She's expecting you to call her any minute now, since I already warned her about it." Sasuke crossed his arms. "I want you to know, Ino's not going to happy, waiting around the phone and doing nothing if you don't call her." Sakura pouted and glared at the buttons again.

Sasuke smiled a bit at Sakura's expression. "Try again," He said. Sakura let out a sigh and punched the numbers in with such force that Sasuke thought that it was going to break.

Sakura tentatively held the phone against her ear.

"Is it ringing?" Sasuke asked. Sakura frowned.

"It's making a sound that goes drrrrrrrrrrrr." Sasuke smiled again at how Sakura mimicked the ringing sound. "Hello? Is this Ino? INO? Wow! I CAN HEAR YOU, INO!" Sakura whipped the phone off her ear and stared at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"Sasuke, this is so cool!" She giggled and jammed the phone back on her ear. "Ino! How are you? Yeah, uh-huh…" Sasuke smiled for the third time and walked away to give her some privacy.

Sasuke felt so warm when he was with Sakura. She had this aura… typish thing that just made him feel comforted.

Sakura was now squinting at the buttons. "What are you looking for?" Sasuke asked.

"The off button. Ah, here we go-" Sasuke heard a tiny _blip_ and Sakura gently placed the phone back in its receiver. "Um, Sasuke?" She asked, blushing slightly. Sasuke looked at her glowing face. "Could you check my wings? They've been feeling better and…"

"Oh," Sasuke said. "Sure."

He did not expect Sakura to turn her back on him and take off her shirt. She held the sweatshirt to her chest, and, the back of her neck turning red slightly, stretched her wings out towards him.

Her back was lean and muscled, and flawless. Her wings were gracefully curved, with a few feathers floating and landing on her shoulders. Her pink hair curled softly around her frail neck.

It was all Sasuke could do to not spurt a nosebleed.

"Sasuke?" Sakura's voice pulled him from images that was floating in his head.

"Huh?"

"My… wing…"

"Oh, right." Sasuke held one of the wings gently and tried to stretch it out. The muscle was stiff, and Sakura hissed in pain. Not sure what to do, Sasuke rubbed the muscles, trying to straighten them out. "Does it hurt?"

"A little," A strained answer whimpered out of Sakura and Sasuke knew that the pain must be a lot more than 'a little.' But he kept on rubbing the wings.

"Are you… going to leave when your wings are better?" He asked quietly. Sakura didn't answer for a while. "Sakura?"

"Yes…" Sakura said. Sasuke sighed silently and dropped his head so that his chin hit his chest. Thankfully, Sakura didn't look back. "But… Maybe not right away." Sasuke heard her chuckle. "I'm enjoying here, you know." Sasuke stroked the white feathers.

"I'm glad you're staying longer." He told her gruffly, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm glad too. I miss Neji though…" Sasuke's throat tightened at the name. "But I'm sure he'll understand."

* * *

Karin and Sai were both seated at the café Tenten and Sakura were working at. Karin noticed with annoyance, that Ino was talking a little too animatedly around Sai. _Her high-pitched voice is so annoying!_ She lifted her forefinger slightly and pointed a finger at Ino's throat inconspicuously. Then she muttered a brief spell. 

Ino choked and her hand flew to her throat. She coughed violently and keeled over the counter. Tenten rushed over to her and thumped on her back. "Ino, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" Ino laid a slim hand on the base of her throat and cleared her throat. "Weird, it felt like as if someone was suddenly grabbing my throat."

"I heard that it was one of the symptoms of a deadly disease." Karin said coolly. "They haven't found a cure yet." Karin looked at Ino's face growing paler and added innocently. "Of course, I'm not saying you _will_ get that disease. It could be something totally different." She turned away with satisfaction as Ino rushed out of the café. Sai eyed her.

"You scare me sometimes." He murmured, so that Tenten wouldn't hear.

Karin merely smirked, and ordered another cup of coffee.

* * *

Neji waited anxiously as Hinata was sent in for a check-up. 

It felt like forever, waiting for it to finish.

Finally, a nurse with soft silky caramel hair walked out with Hinata leaning on her. "It's nothing to worry about," She said softly, "All Angels get ground-sickness on their first time to the ground."

Neji took Hinata from her. "Thank you," He murmured.

"However, I do advise a bit of a rest for her. Don't try to rush back to the ground, no matter how much you miss Sakura. She's strong, isn't she?" The nurse smiled gently at him. Neji sighed.

"That doesn't stop me from worrying about her…" He muttered. A frown marred the nurse's perfect skin.

"Stop fussing around or your feathers will fall out." She said with that tone only nurses had. Neji smiled faintly at her.

"Thanks." He inclined his head and headed towards Hinata's home.

* * *

"You're NOT going to believe this!" Ino yelled excitedly over the phone. Sakura held it away from her, holding onto her bleeding ear. 

"Not so loud, Ino, please!" Sakura whispered into the phone.

"That photo you took with Sasuke! It's a huge hit! Now this magazine wants to buy it from us and put it up on their next issue!" There was a while as Ino drew in her breath.

Sakura smiled a bit. She was very proud of herself. This certainly wasn't like missions she had while she was in Heaven, but the fact that she accomplished something was enough to make her feel happy. "Does Sasuke know?"

"Not yet, I don't think."

"He'll be happy to hear."

"Yeah…" Ino waited a bit, as if expecting Sakura to say something. "Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"You're going to tell him."

"Am I?"

"Um, yes."

There was another pause. Finally, Ino exploded.

"Can't you see?!" She screamed. Sakura yanked the phone away from her ear. Ino continued yelling. Sakura could even hear her without her ear on the earpiece. "Sasuke likes you, maybe even love you! It's been six years since he dated, and he's never acted like this towards other female beings!"

It was very hard for Sakura to hear what Ino was saying now. "What?" She asked when the phone was pressed to her ear.

"Sasuke. Likes. You!" Ino growled.

"Of course he does, I like him too!" Sakura said, examining her pink hair in the mirror nearby.

"What? No! Not like that, Sakura-" Ino was cut off.

"Ino, I have to go. Sorry, we'll talk more later, okay?" Sakura hung up as Sasuke came in. She smiled at him, and he smiled weakly in return.

"How was the picture-taking?" She asked pleasantly.

"…only thirty-two more to go." He murmured.

"What?" Sakura asked, puzzled. Sasuke looked up and stared at her with onyx eyes.

"Only thirty-two more pictures of the things I love the most." He laughed bitterly. "It took me more than ten years to find 968 things I love the most." Sakura blinked at him.

"You love things, Sasuke?" Sakura's question caught him off-guard; he turned and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Uh, yes. I think everybody loves things."

"I.." Sakura looked down at her fingers. "I wonder who I loved when I was human."

"It won't matter, how long have you been an Angel anyway?"

"About six years."

"That's pretty young. So, you're what, six years old?"

"…don't tease me, Sasuke."

"Fine, fine…" It was all Sasuke could do not to quirk a smile before he turned away. She was… a very enjoyable company.

And he would dread the day when she would get better.

Sasuke felt a stab of pain in his heart.

* * *

**HA! See? I told you I'd get this chapter done!**

**Btw, i got another review today. It's making me feel very nice. **

**Thanks for the reviews, I'm actually thinking about Angel superpowers.**

**Give me some ideas here, I'm not exactly an expert in superpowers.**

**XD**

**Until we meet again, then!**


	10. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sasuke stared into Sakura's face. "No way," He said.

"But-"

"No buts." Sasuke had a strange feeling that he was starting to sound like a stern mother.

"But take a look at this little sweetheart!" Sakura pulled a gray kitten out from her pocket and stuck it right at Sasuke's face.

The kitten had gray fur with black stripes. Its large green eyes stared up at Sasuke's black ones, and mewed pitifully. Sasuke's left eye twitched.

Yes, it was cute.

No, he wasn't going to let Sakura keep it.

"NO." He said. "What if I say I'm allergic to cats?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly at her and shook his head.

"But you're not." Sakura stuck her bottom lip out. "If you were, you'd be freaking out at me, sneezing all over place, and you'd be crying too."

Sasuke knew _that_ wasn't going to work.

"Okay," He said carefully. "What if this cat has some kind of unknown disease? It's a stray after all."

"We'll get it checked." Sakura said firmly. "Kiba is a volunteer for a vet, and I'm sure he can get us an appointment."

"But-"

"No more buts. We are _going_ to keep this cat, and _you're _not going to stop us!" Sakura turned on her heels and walked toward the steps leading towards their apartment. While she was leaving, Sasuke could hear her crooning, "It's okay, don't be scared, let's get you warmed up and clean, okay?"

Sasuke stood there for a moment, wondering _how the hell_ Sakura was able to whisk out the weak spots and take control of the conversation.

_It must be a girl thing…_ Sasuke decided. Because, then, he wouldn't have to feel bad about losing a conversation to a female being.

* * *

Kiba stared down_ hard_ at the furry creature in Sakura's arms. Although his goal was to be a vet, he had never liked cats much. He preferred dogs.

"Um…" He muttered and looked at Sakura carefully. "I don't think I can…"

Suddenly a flash of lightening cracked across the sky and Sakura's jade green eyes seem to leap out at him, along with the kitten's.

"Kiba…" She muttered ominously. Kiba took a careful step back.

"Okay, I'll take a look." Kiba gingerly took the cat in his gloved hands and moved into another room. Sakura heard him whispering something to his dog, sounding frightened. She narrowed her eyes, but sat patiently at a couch, reading magazines.

After thirty minutes, Kiba came out, looking pale and sick. "Here's your cat." He said and dumped the cat on Sakura's lap. "She's in perfect condition." He sniffed the air and shuddered. "Ugh, I smell like a cat… Excuse me," He muttered and rushed back into the examination room.

Sakura stood up briskly. "Okay! Now I should name you… Wait, maybe I should wait for Sasuke. He is after all, letting you stay in his apartment." She smiled at the little kitty and held her tightly to her chest.

* * *

"A name?" Sasuke looked down once again at the little creature. It was about two inches away from his face… very uncomfortable. He pushed it away. Sakura took her back, and petted the kitty.

"Yes! It's like a new family member, so we need to give her a name!" Sakura's face beamed like an excited little child.

Sasuke sighed. "Okay, we'll call her kitty."

There was deafening silence.

"…what?"

"Kitty. That'll be her name."

"What kind of a name is that?" Sakura stuck her bottom lip. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Well, maybe I'm lacking in imagination and creativity and gentleness and all the other things, but this is _my_ house, and that'll be her name!" He snapped and jumped up. _Thank god I just talked to Ino… New comebacks added to my collection._

Sakura stared, wide-eyed back at him. "Okay." She said simply. Sasuke sighed.

"Thank you for your cooperation." He muttered, and stomped towards the bathroom to take a shower.

* * *

"Oh, it's so _cute!_" Karin twitched as she heard the annoying, high-pitched voice again. She looked over and saw the damned Angel, Sakura, showing her cat to Ino. "What's her name?" Ino continued to gush.

"Kitty."

There was a deafening silence. Even the customers in the café seemed to know that the poor, misfortuned cat was named in such an uncreative way.

"Sakura?" Ino's aqua blue eyes stared into Sakura's jade eyes in worry. "Were you… uh… not feeling okay when you were naming this cat?" Sakura giggled a bit.

"No, Sasuke named it."

"_Oh." _Ino sat back. A male being had named the cat. That explained _everything._

Tenten looked up from behind the counter. "It's almost your shift, Sakura." She called out.

"Oh, okay!" Sakura looked around and saw Karin. She beamed and scurried over. "Can you hold Kitty, Hanako?" Sakura called to her in Karin's fake name.

Not used to her code name, Karin looked up, startled, to see a cat being dumped on her lap. Before she could say anything, Sakura went inside the bathroom to change.

Karin stared down coldly at the cat. Sai was watching her in amusement. "What are you looking at, _Masakuzu?" _She asked venomously. Sai smiled smugly.

"I thought I'd never get to see the day when my darling cousin _Hanako_ would hold a cute, little, kitten." He whispered. "Be careful now, you're strangling the kitty." Karin looked down and saw that her hands were clenching into the kitten's sides. She immediately loosened her grip.

"Does this count as making Sakura happy?" Sai asked, cocking his head and laying on his hands. Karin froze.

"Does it, now?" She asked. Then she looked down and gave the kitty a cold smile. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to go through some pain," She whispered down to it.

It only took Karin a few seconds to murmur the incantation of an illness. "It'll be a few days when Sakura figures out that you have the disease," she whispered. "and by then, it'll be too late."

"The kitty looks pretty fine to me." Commented Sai.

"Shut up, Masakuzu." Karin replied. She handed the cat to Ino, and left the café, feeling much refreshed.

* * *

Hinata bolted upright from her bed. "We need to go, Neji!" She said. Neji looked up from his book.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked gravely.

"Yes… I'm so sorry, I've been nothing but a burden to you. I'll make it up to you this time." Hinata strode quickly across the room in elegant strides. She threw open the closet for something to wear for travels. "Hurry! Go get ready, Neji."

Neji stood quickly, and left the room. _Finally_, the time had come. Feeling much elated, he ran into someone.

"Oh, sorry-" It was the nurse that took care of Hinata. "Oh, hello." The nurse looked up at him and smiled.

"How is Hinata?" She asked.

"She's feeling much better- we're going to look for Sakura now." A creased formed between the nurse's perfect eyebrows.

"Okay, but wait for a moment… She'll need some medication during the travel. And take it easy on the time, okay?" The nurse fumbled in her little medical kit and took two small bottles of liquid out. "Here. And don't be too frustrated at Hinata if she slows down. Sakura's not going anywhere, I don't think. If she's smart, she'll stay put near the place where she fell."

"Thank you." Neji mumbled.

"It'll take about a few days, by the way. The travel, I mean." The nurse called out over her shoulder.

"Yes…" Neji pursed his lips in determination. _Please wait for me, Sakura…_

* * *

Sakura was playing with the Kitten.

Sasuke was going through his photo albums.

Kitty was playing with Sakura.

"Ow!" Sakura yelped. "She scratched me!" Sasuke looked up immediately and fumbled through the mess for a first-aid kit.

"You should've been careful." Sasuke muttered, watching a drop of blood slide down Sakura's pale finger.

Suddenly he grabbed her hand and sucked on the wound.

There was a deafening silence…

Then Sasuke let go, realizing what he had done. "Uh, that was just in case it was infected. You know, animal scratches, you need to suck a bit of the blood out, and uh, and you were bleeding…"

"Thank you." Sakura's quiet voice cut his ranting. Sasuke blushed slightly and handed her a band-aid.

"Here." He muttered, and got up again to look at his photographs.

The awkward silence continued.

Kitty slid under the sofa.

And nobody noticed Sakura's blushing face, her fast-beating heart, and her trembling hands.

_What's… going on… with me…?_ She asked herself.

Sakura looked over at Sasuke, absorbed in his pictures.

_No! I must remain faithful to Neji. Neji! Pale skin, lavender eyes, long, dark hair…_ Sakura felt a little tinge of guilt as another person flashed onto her mind.

_Black hair… dark eyes… pale skin… Stop it, Sakura, stop! _She slapped herself on the forehead. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her, but continued to work.

* * *

"Are you not feeling well, Kitty?" Sakura inquired the cat, lying limp on the cushion.

Kitty didn't even bother to meow.

"Hey…" Sakura said, lifting a finger and stroking the cat's fur. "Hey, let's take you to Kiba's, okay?" She carefully wrapped Kitty in a warm bundle of blankets and went outside slowly.

Somehow, Sakura wasn't feeling that well either.

* * *

Sasuke usually didn't know what to do with a crying girl.

However, now, he wrapped his arms around Sakura and let her tears fall onto his sleeve.

Kiba apologetically looked at them. "Sorry…I think it was too late." He murmured. "That virus spread really quickly…" He said defensively. "It was almost abnormal."

"It's okay." Sasuke said quietly.

Sakura clung to his arm as Sasuke gently led her back to the apartment.

She was still crying. Sasuke looked at her.

Her pale face was all red and splotchy, her tears clinging onto her long eyelashes. Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.

"Stop… crying…" Sasuke muttered, panic hinting his voice. "It's okay…"

Sakura smothered her face in his sleeve and muffled her sobs.

"Uuuuhhhhhh….." She sobbed.

"Sakura, listen to me. Kitty was sick… there was no way to cure him… Don't cry…" Sasuke felt useless having to repeat 'don't cry' over and over again. He slid his hand under her chin and raised it so that she was looking at him. "Don't cry…" He said.

Then he leaned in…

And kissed her.

* * *

Jade eyes stared widely into Onyx ones.

...and there was a defeaning silence.

* * *

Neji was packing his things in his bag when he heard something crack.

He looked around, and saw that his favorite cup had cracked in two.

He narrowed his eyes at it. (Cracked cups mean bad luck in Japan… I think.)

"Nothing bad is going to happen." He said out loud, trying to reassure himself.

"I know." Hinata called from the other room, thinking that Neji was talking to her. "I'll be glad to see Sakura."

Neji glared at the fragments, then resumed packing.

Trying to shake the uneasy feeling that had suddenly enveloped him.

**Author's Note**

**Hey guys, I FINALLY finished the seventh chapter! Sorry it took so long, but you know… had a lot of things to do…. And stuff. Yeah.**

**So what'd you think of the little hints of SasuSaku romance? (squeals like a fangirl) **

**About Sasuke naming the cat Kitty, I figured, hey, even though he has the emotional capacity of a rock, he's got to have **_**some**_** kind of humor in him. So, I chose to let him name the cat. **

**So… Sakura's finally falling for Sasuke! Although she tries to reject the idea. Will she succeed in rejecting it? Or will she fall in looooooove?! **

**Stay tuned for the next chapter!! (I'll try to update quickly… I promise… )**

**Oh yeah... and sorry for the male readers out there, I hope I didn't offend you by saying that you lacked creativity and imagination... SORRY SORRY, i know there are some creative guys... i'm friends with them. **

**i was just doing this for the story. k?**

**thanks!!!**

**until next time!!!!!**


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